by Ashley Caneva
All photographs courtesy of Victor Caneva
Having become an official resident of Trieste just weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown while simultaneously starting chemotherapy, it can be tempting to feel that I have only seen this city at her worst… and while I have been at mine. Despite living here for a full year now, I have yet to visit Grotto Gigante, venture out to Aquilea, see the majority of the incredible museums, or dine at an osmiza. For me, like countless others around the world, 2020 was a year of staying the course and making it through rough times with the hope of a brighter future.
Being the history enthusiast that I am, I can’t help but notice that the coronavirus pandemic is certainly not the worst bully that Trieste and her people have had to endure. She has survived the Histri and the Gauls, numerous Roman emperors, the Byzantines, Lombard invasion, Frankish rule, integration with the Kingdom of Italy, the threat of the Venetians, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy again, and Nazi occupation (for a start). This incredibly rich history and the influence of all the populations who have passed through her are what make Trieste the complex mosaic that she is. Her storied scars and subsequent healing make her beautiful.
This beauty is also evident in the people who reside here. When the lockdown first began, I was amazed at the heart of the Triestini and Italians as a whole. Most followed the regulations without much complaining and there was generally a “we’re all in this together” attitude. As I walked back and forth to the hospital, hope was publicly displayed in children’s rainbow drawings with “andra tutto bene” (“everything will be alright”) scribbled below and hung from apartment windows all over town. In the evenings, we took to the balconies and joined together in song when we could not be together in person.
It was incredibly moving and inspiring to see such unity, and even a sense of humor in a major crisis. Now a year later, we are all weary of the ever-changing regulations and more anxious than ever to put our arms around loved ones we have not been able to see. We long to have freedom of movement without fear … but I believe we can still emerge victorious, unified, and hopeful. Trieste has proven time and time again how resilient she truly is, and this trial will be no different.
